by
Helen M. Davis To those who drive by enroute to home or some other destination, the skatepark in Veneta seems innocuous enough. Kids can be seen on skateboards and scooters as they zoom up and down the dips and curves or wait their turn to do so. Meanwhile, still more kids can be seen at the small playground next to it enjoying the swings and the monkey bars, and often a game is in progress at the basketball court. It all seems like innocent fun, a great way for the youngsters of Veneta to spend their time. But take a closer look and listen and you will learn differently. For starters, garbage tends to be strewn about the premises as kids refuse to pick up after themselves. This refuse ranges from cans and bottles to fast food wrappers, melted candy and whatnot. Trash receptacles are available, but not utilized, and several weeks ago, things reached a point where the park was closed for two days as the city not only cleaned up the mess but tried to send a message to area youth about the need to take care of the park. There were some instances of kids jumping the fence to get in anyway, but when caught these young offenders were compliant as they were expelled from park premises. Kyle Shaver, Veneta Public Works Director, said the city wanted to give the kids something to think about as attempts to get them to pick up their rubbish has resulted in discourteous behavior and officials being told to “F_ _ _ off!” by members of a group of kids who range in age from 12 – 16 years old. This, naturally, has been met with displeasure and Shaver admits to finding it difficult to understand how those who use the park can be so indifferent. “I would have loved something like this when I was a kid growing up here,” he says. Problems haven’t been just with detritus carpeting park grounds however, but also with bullying, disrespect, and vulgar language being tossed about like beach balls on a windy day, according to posts from distressed parents and even grandparents on Facebook. A young man with disabilities visited the park with his support worker and after wandering off and leaving his skateboard by the bowl, returned to find it broken into three pieces. The perpetrator was never identified, and the young man’s parents were distressed to have their son, who is faced with so many struggles just in day-to-day life, be treated in such a hurtful manner while having his personal property destroyed for no discernible reason. Lane County Sheriff’s deputies have also gotten involved at the skate park after a number of fights have taken place both at the skate park itself and at the city park at the end of Broadway. These fisticuffs have been filmed and uploaded onto social media. Due to the presence of a “cinematographer” at these melees police suspect that these altercations have been planned rather than just a flaring of tempers. The offenders in these cases have been mostly middle school aged but there have been some instances of high school students engaging in fighting as well. Ware states that those caught have been and will be “trespassed” for a year and if they are caught on park property, the parents of the offending youth will receive a fine of $350 and will have to appear in court for failure to supervise their child. Eventually, says Ware, the skate park may have to close permanently if the violence does not cease. So, what can be done to make the parks a place for all to enjoy? First, there needs to be respect, which should be modeled in the home. Those who utilize the park need to value the feelings of others, adults, and other youngsters alike, something that sadly, seems to be missing so much in society these days. The responsible parties also need to know that there will be consequences for their actions. If they must answer for their wrongdoings, then they might be more hesitant to engage in the transgressions that have been taking place. Perhaps there should be some sort of supervision to keep the patrons of the park in line. Something needs to happen soon, or a community asset is going to be lost and those who do behave will find themselves being punished right along with those who don’t seem to know how to or even care about engaging in civility. People shouldn’t have to forbid their children from going to the skatepark because the behavior is so bad and yet, this very thing has happened, and it saddens parents to have to make this decision in order to keep their children safe. The Veneta skate park was created to give kids a safe place to enjoy themselves and engage in a fun activity, but its days could well be numbered. Should the closing of the park become necessary, there will be one less way for kids to spend their time in small town Veneta, but there may be no other option if behavior doesn’t change for the better. In that case, the words of “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell - “You don’ t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” - will ring very true.
12 Comments
Norain@autzen
11/8/2023 06:00:35 pm
This sounds like more of an issue with the way younger folk behave and the declining level of civility amongst the population, across all demographics, that we see in today’s society, than it does an issue with the skate park. Personally, I’ve never experienced anything like what’s being described here. I have seen car campers full of trash parked in the lot for multiple days essentially living there, I’ve seen warrants being served across the street at the apartments, seemingly by every law enforcement officer in the valley, but never anything that concerning from those using the park other than teenagers being teenagers. Certainly not anything to warrant the suggestion that the park might have to be closed.
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DaveH
11/8/2023 06:38:34 pm
Kyle's last name is not Shaver ;)
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Maddy
11/8/2023 06:55:05 pm
Thank you for the article. I live on East Hunter, so our road is well used by kids of all ages going to and from the skate park. It’s certainly not hard to miss which kids will be an issue and which ones just want to go and enjoy the park. The mouths on some of these kids are not nice. My husband and I once escorted a kid home after he was punched by a group of boys. When you see many of these kids and parents together as I have, it clearly explains the level of disrespect. It’s a great little park, but sadly needs supervision. A great location for the skate park would be a right next door to City Hall. Few will be reached by this article, but sadly bad behavior will continue as long as it’s tolerated in the home.
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Ed
11/10/2023 11:33:49 am
Not hard to see how some kids ended up by the way they were brought up. Was at Walmart when I encounter a copy with 3(?) kids. The way the man (dad I presume) addressing and speaking to the kids was reprehensible. Every other word was a swear word. This continued into Walmart when we came near them again. It would be surprising that the kids grow up to emulate their foul-mouthed dad with extensive use of F-words and distasteful, uncivilized behavior. Often times, you can tell what the parents of those kids are (although there might be exceptions). Parents (if you are one of those), you can do better.
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Kirri
11/8/2023 07:49:47 pm
It’s not against the law to allow your middle/high school aged kids to go to a park unsupervised. Giving the parents a fine is not right. Do you know how many kids don’t listen no matter what their parents do?? Maybe put up Cameras instead and give the consequences to the child 🤦🏻♀️
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Leanna
12/1/2023 05:23:02 pm
Sorry but it is fair to fine the parents...most cases they learn this behavior at home...if a child is caught shoplifting the parents are fined
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Overgrown Kid
11/8/2023 07:55:43 pm
Offenders should be given escalating fines for violations and given community service, which would include cleaning these parks. Maybe the humiliation of their friends laughing at them would also be a deterrent.
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Peggy
11/9/2023 06:57:03 pm
It's sad how some kids can ruin something for all. We quit taking our grandson because of the language and action that happens there. We've seen drug useage at the park also.
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Will
11/13/2023 07:55:35 pm
It always been one bad apple spoils the bunch.it was our kids that did the work and fundraising that got the park and thier kids are the one destroying it how ironic
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RosieO
11/10/2023 09:20:18 am
Given the bullying, hateful, and entitled behavior of some of the adults in the community, I'm not surprised to see such behavior from their kids. It absolutely starts at home. Very sad it has come to this for what should be a fun place for our community's kids.
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Jessica
12/8/2023 02:07:18 pm
When I was in middle school in Florida the skate park had a supervisor someone who sat in the booth and made sure rules were followed, and they could call police if necessary. Just having someone there that is 'supervising' seemed to stop a lot of the bad behaviors. Maybe Veneta city council needs to get some bids to build a supervision station to keep the supervisor safe from the elements, and to pay the supervisor for their time. Or maybe someone might want to volunteer? Also to put some barb wire on the top of the fence so people can't just get in when the park is closed.
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Brittani
1/6/2024 08:12:42 am
Maybe teen after school promgram
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